Invalid&#39;s bed.



No. 836,889. PATBNTBD NOV. 2v, 1906. A. M. 1 ARKLHILL- INVALIDS BBD.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 21.1906.

z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 83mm). 'PATENTED Noma?, 1906.

' A. M. PARKHILL.

INVALIDS BBD.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 21.1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l IW

nois,

A.posts A A, foot-posts UNITED sra-Tas PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters' -}?atent.'

" 'Patented N0v.'"27, 1906.

,Application ledrApril' 21, 1906. f Serial No. 312,942.

\ Be it known that I, ALroEM. BA'RKHiLL', a

lcitizen of the United -States,residing^at Chicago in thevoounty'of Cookand State of Illihave invented certain new Aand useful Improvements inInvalids Beds, of which the following is a specification.

The-invention to be hereinafter described relates to invalid-beds ofthat general character wherein meansJ areV employed vforv raising orlowering a patient while maintaining a substantially prostrate position.

In this general type of invalid-bed it is desirable to move the patientinto the raisedl or lowered positionwith positiveness and certaintywithout jar, to avoid as far as possible the use of racks and pinions orintermeshing gears, which produce noise and are susceptible of unevenaction owing to lost motion, and to do away with such lifting devicesasstraps and the like, which stretch lmore-or less, and thereby cause thelifting-plane to move in a plane inclined to the horizontal.

It is likewise a desideratum that the sustainp ing-sheet or like`iexible support on which the patient rests may be given tension whenthe sustaining-frame is in raised position and that it be readilydetachable at desired times.

With these general considerations in'view the invention consists of theparts and combinations to be hereinafter described, i and deiinitelypointed out in the claims.

Inthe drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation of a bed embodying 'thepresentinvention and looking at the foot portion thereof, some-partsbeing broken away. Fig. 2 is an end lelevation of the head end ofthebed. Fig. 3 is a plan view. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on lineFig. 4; fand Fig'. 5 isa sectional detail to be described.

VThe bedstead proper, comprising the head- B B, and siderails C C, maybeprovided with any usual. or desired character of mattress-support D,that shown being inthe form of cross rails or slats. 'The head-posts A Aand the foot-posts B B are connected, respectively, byA suitabletransverse piecesy E E, between which, and preferably below the slats D,extends-the operatingshaft F for a purpose to be presently described.

ted ends a/ a and b b of which',`Fig.-;3,em brace and lare guided intheir :vertical movement by the guides a aand b. b ,formed in the headand footuposts, respectively. "Secured l to the end portions-I oftheoperating-shaft F "are thecrank-disks F F', a pairof suchfdisks-being preferably secured to the shaft F at the `foot and head endportions: thereoff'and4 connected to said crank-.disks byrpinsff'areuthe operating-arms H H, lthe endv f portions `near pins ff beingcurved, as best shownin Fig-.2, to embrace `the shaft F"y when [thestretcherframe is in its loweredposition, as will presently appear.

' Pivotally jointed to the outer endsbf :the operating-arms H H athl'areathe toggle-levers .K K', the lower one of each setbeing pivotedto the head and foot transverse pieces ElE-at 7c and the upper one ofeach set beinginlike manner connected tothe head andfoot transverse barsGr Gal-at g2 g2.

From the construction thus far. described it will be apparent thatrotation ofthe. operating-shaft F will operate: theftoggle-levers `KK`at the head'and `foot-'of lthebed, to thereby positively andevenlyraise or-l'ower the transverse bars- G Cr` ofv the stretcherframe,which at such times are. guided-ein their vertical movementbythe-:guides a a and b l). When the toggle-levers lare invthe positionshown in Figs. 1 and 2, the stretcherframe will be in its lowestposition, and when 'the shaft F is turned'into the position `.indicatedin Fig. 4 and the Ytoggle-levers are straightened in a manner wellunderstoodthe stretcher-frame will be in its raised lorhi'ghestposition. l

In order to maintain the stretcher-frame in its highest position, anotch f 2 is provided `inoney of the crank-disks; eitherV at t-hevhead4or foot ofthe beelstead, and pivotallyf connected at etothe piece E,adj acentthereto; is the locking-lever L,' having a locking-pin e in itsend adapted toregister withthe notch f2 when lthe shaft F yand*lcrank-disksfare turned to place the 'stretcher-frame in its raisedposition. Aspring e3`ftends'tox normally raise-the end of the leverLtofcauset'he pin e to enter the notch f 2 when said notch v is broughtinto position above it. 'Ilofenable the lever L to `be turned; about itspivot e to unlock the 'crank-diskfrom' the pin ef', a ltrip Misprovided, rhaving its-end mturned about IOO ating-shaft.

In this character of'device it is desirable that the supporting sheet orfabric of the stretcher. be relatively slack whenV the stretcher-frameis in its lowest position and that such sheet' or fabric beautomatically f' tightened gradually as the stretcher-frame is I raisedto its raised position, and as one of the Y zo ' ent invention in theserespects I have deforms of mechanism that embodies the presvised thefollowing:

l Each of the transverse bars G G, one at the .heady and one at the footof the bed and directly connected to the toggle-lever mechanism alreadydescribed, is provided with a longitudinallydisposed. rib or flange g g.(Shown in full lines,` Fig. 3, and by dotted lines, Figs. 'l and 2.)

` The side bars O of the stretcher-frame, to which lthe' fabric orstretcher-frame bottom O is secured by means presently to be described,have slotted ends, as best shown by detail lin Fig. 5. These slottedends of the stretcher side bars embrace the rib or fiange g g ofthe'transverse bars G G at the head and foot ends of the bed, so as tobe movable transversely of the'bed upon such ribs or flanges.

Centrally secured at the foot and head ends of the bed,respectively, arethe stationary uprights P, the lower ends whereof preferably embrace theoperating-shaft F and are then secured to the head and foot transversepieces E by pins p. Pivotally connected to the upper ends of thestationary uprights I arev the stretching-bars Q, the outer ends of eachof which are jointed to the ends of the side bars O of thestretcher-frame, as best seen in Figs, l and 3 at g. From thisconstruction it will be seen that as the transverse bars G G of thestretcher-frame are raised by the toggle-levers in the manner alreadydescribed the stretching-arms Q Q will be brought more nearly onto astraight line and will thereby separate the side bars O O of thestretcher-frame as the latter rises to its upper position, andconversely as the stretcher-frame is lowered the stretchingbars Q Q willdraw the side bars O O of the stretcher-frame toward each other, totherej by slacken the bottom of the fabric O.

' In order that the bottom of the fabric may be readily detached fromthe sidel bars O O of the stretcher-frame, the same is preferablysecured thereto by means of semicircular pieces, preferably of metal, R.The bottom of the fabric O being passed about the side bars O O of thestretcher-frame, the semicircular clamping-pieces are then placed aboutthe fabric at the point where it passes over the side bars, and suchsemicircular clamping-pieces may be secured to the side bars in anysuitable manner, as by set-screws r. In the construction already shownthese semicircular clamping-pieces R are two in number for each side ofthe bottom of the fabric, and a set-screw 1' is placed over theiradjacent ends and a like set-screw 1 through their remoteends tosecurely hold the semicircular clamping-pieces R and the fabric clampedthereby to the side rails O O of the stretcher-frame.

From the construction described it will be noted that the togglearrangement for raising and lowering the stretcher-frame avoids the useof all ratchets, pinions, and gears, which are undesirable in aninvalid-bedA structure, where noise and lost motion are often a seriousdetriment to the comfort of the patient, and such toggle constructionenables a positive, even, and uniform motion to be given to thestretcher-frame as it is raised and lowered. Moreover, when in raisedposition the toggles themselves act as a locking means for holding thestretcher-frame in its raised position, and this may be all that isdesirable in some cases 5 but a special locking device, as I havealready described, may be also employed. By the construction describedalso not only can the bottom of the fabric of the stretcher-frame bereadily detachedand replaced, but the fabric itself will be tautened orstretched widthwise as the stretcher-frame rises and by virtue ofthegeneral mechanism hereinbefore described, which illustrates one of themany forms in which these results may be accomplished.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

l. In an invalid-bed, the combination of a main bed-frame, astretcher-frame having a bottom fabric, an operating-shaft mounted inthe main bed-frame, toggle-link connec- IIO tions between said main andstretcher frame operating-arms connecting said shaft with saidtoggle-arms, and means for stretching' the bottom fabric of thestretcher-frame as the latter is raised.

2. In an invalid-bed, the combination of a main bed-frame, astretcher-frame having a bottom fabric and comprising transverse bars,side bars connected to the transverse bars and movable toward and fromeach other, toggle-link connections between the main bed-frame and thetransverse bars of the stretcher-frame, andV means for separating theside bars of the stretcher-frame from each other as the stretcher-frameis raised.

3. In an invalid-bed, the combination of a main bed-frame, astretcher-frame having a bottom fabric and comprising transverse bars,side bars connected to the transverse bars and movable toward and fromeach other, toggle-link connections between the main bed-frame andtransverse bars of the stretcher-frame, stretching-bars having a fixedpivotal connection with the main frame, and jointed at their oppositeends to the side bars of the stretcher-frame to move the side bars ofthe stretcher-frame from and toward each other as the said frame israised and lowered.

4. In an invalid-bed, the combination of a main bed-frame, astretcher-frame having a bottom fabric, an operating-shaft mounted inthe main bed-frame and provided with crank-disks, toggle-linkconnections between the main bed-frame and the stretcher-frame at thehead and foot ends thereof, operatingarms connecting the crank-diskswith the toggle-linl connections, a locking device for securing thestretcher-frame in its raised position, and a trip extending to one sideofthe main bed-frame for tripping the locking device.

5. In an invalid-bed, the combination of a main bed-frame, astretcher-frame having a bottom fabric, an operating-shaft mounted inthe main bed-frame and provided with crank-disks, toggle-linkconnections between the main bed-frame and the stretcher-frame at thehead and foot ends thereof, operatingarms copnecting the crank-diskswith the toggle-link connections, means for stretching the bottom fabricof the stretcher-frame as the latter is raised, a 'locking device forsecuring the stretcher-frame in its raised position, and a tripextending to one side of the main bed-frame for tripping the lockingdevice.

6. In an invalid-bed, the combination of a main bed-frame, astretcher-frame havinga bottom fabric and comprising transverse barseach provided with a rib or flange, side bars engaging said ribs orflanges and movable thereon toward and from each other, toggle-linkconnections between the main frame and transverse bars of thestretcherframe, and stretching-bars having a fixed pivotal connectionwith the main frame and jointed to said side bars of the stretcherframeto stretch the fabric thereof as the stretcher-frame is raised by thetoggle-links.

7. In an invalid-bed, the combination of the main bed-frame, anoperating-shaft mounted therein and extending to the head and footportions thereof', vertical guides carried by the main frame, astretcher-frame having a bottom fabric, and comprising transverse barsengaging said guides, said bars being provided with'ribs or flanges atright angles to said vertical guides, side bars movable toward and fromeach other on said ribs or flanges, toggle-link connections between themain bed-frame and said transverse bars, operating-arms connecting theoperating-shaft to said toggle-links, and means for operating saidshaft.

8. In an invalid-bed, the combination of the main bed-frame, anVoperating-shaft mounted therein and extending to the head and footportions thereof, vertical guides carried by the main frame, astretcher-frame having a bottom fabric, and comprising transverse barsengaging said guides, said bars being provided with ribs or flanges atright angles to said vertical guides, side bars movable toward and fromeach other on said ribs or flanges, toggle-link connections between themain bed-frame and said transverse bars, stretching-arms pivoted to afixed point at one end and having their opposite ends jointed to theside bars, operating-arms connecting the operating-shaft to saidtogglelinks, and means for operating said shaft.

9. In an invalid-bed, the combination of a main frame, a stretcher-framehaving side bars, a bottom fabric therefor, semicircular clamping platesfor securing the bottom fabric to said side bars, a toggle-linkconnection between the main frame and stretcherframe, and means forseparating the side bars of the stretcher-frame as the latter is movedinto its raised position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALICE M. PARKHILL.

Witnesses HENRY A. PHILLIPS, FRED E. R. JONES.

